February 15th ~ 22nd
Chiron enters Aries
Sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith. ~ Margaret Shepard
On Monday, February 18th, Chiron enters Aries where it will remain for the next 7-8 years. When slow moving planets, or Centaurs as the case may be, change signs we notice a shift in the atmosphere. Within weeks of one another, first Chiron enters tropical Aries this week, and then at the next New Moon in early March, Uranus will finally enter Taurus. Just as when someone moves into a new home, that person can change the atmosphere in that home. And so it is when these slow moving bodies enter a new domain. Chiron is not a planet. It is a Centaur, which is something between an asteroid and a comet. Drawn into our solar system from the Kuiper Belt, these centaurs temporarily take up residence in our solar system. With a very oblique and elliptical orbit, Chiron travels in the area between Saturn and Uranus (for the most part) and is something of a gateway to the outer, more transcendent planets. Because of this strange orbit, it spends varying times in each sign, where its shortest stay is in the sign of Libra, and its longest is in the sign of Aries.
Like a messenger from beyond, Chiron was drawn into our Solar System, to impart his wisdom and knowledge to those of us blind souls traveling here. Sometimes with Chiron we can feel like something of an alien, an outcast, misunderstood, and vulnerable. But when Chiron is strong, there is this deep wisdom and compassion which understands the weakness and vulnerability of the human condition for what it is. There is something strongly compelling about the journey that Chiron points to, which is nothing less than the soul’s journey to enlightenment.
Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, and when a major planet enters this sign, there is this resurgence of raw energy heralding a Rebirth. But from where we have been standing in the very last degree of Pisces, just before Chiron enters Aries, we cannot yet see what that looks like. In the very last degree of its 50-year journey, there is a sloughing off, a sadness, an ennui, and emotional despair. We stand on the threshold of what may come, not knowing what that is just yet. And when Chiron finally crosses over into Aries, like an infant fresh from the womb filled with this new life force, we still have yet to see what is about to unfold. So in some way, we are all being asked to take this leap of faith out into the next leg of our lives.
There’s only one place I want to go and it’s to all the places I’ve never been. ~ Nikki Rowe
As Chiron enters Aries this week, watch for some of these trends in your life:
Releasing old soul contracts, habits and tendencies that are no longer valid for the person you are now becoming.
The courage and motivation to set appropriate boundaries which may have become eroded. This is about self-care, self-healing and self-protection in a healthy way. Chiron in Aries reminds us that we have the right to take up space.
The urge to want to scrap everything and start all over again. This will be especially true if you feel that you got off track.
Releasing the need to care what others think of you or your choices. The key here is to not be afraid to be yourself.
Meanwhile, the Saturn/Neptune sextile becomes personal this week, as Mercury in Pisces will conjunct Neptune, and Venus in Capricorn will conjunct Saturn: when our ideals and dreams, meet reality. Watch when it all comes into relief on the Full Moon, February 19th. If you were to visualize your ideal life, what would that look like? What sorts of things would bring greater meaning into your life? And what practical steps can you take in order to bring your life more in alignment with that ideal or dream?
For this week’s horoscopes, click below: